Related Articles

ABUJA— Reports are circulating that militants killed dozens of people in northeastern Nigeria during the weekend, most of whom were praying at a mosque. Some analysts said the insurgent group Boko Haram could be trying to warn civilians not to cooperate with authorities.

Locals say men in fatigues, but not Nigerian soldiers, attacked a mosque early Sunday in the town of Kanduga as people were praying. The reports said at least 44 people were killed. Locals said another attack in the village of Ngom killed at least 12. Officials confirmed the attacks happened outside of Maidguri, the original home of Boko Haram, but did not say how many people were killed.

Elizabeth Donnelly, assistant head of the Africa Programme for the London-based think tank Chatham House, said recent attacks are meant to show the public Boko Haram has not been conquered, despite thousands of soldiers being deployed in Yobe, Adamawa and Borno states, which are under emergency rule.

“With this current attack it is demonstrating its presence. It is flexing its muscles," Donnelly said. "It is showing that it still has the capacity to cause serious harm.”

Major attacks blamed on Nigeria's Boko Haram

2009

July - Attacks prompt government crackdown in Bauchi and Maiduguri; 800 people killed

2010

December - Bombings in central Nigeria and church attacks in the northeast kill 86

2011

June - Attack on a bar in Maiduguri kills 25

August - Suicide bomber kills 23 at U.N. building in Abuja

November - Bombings in Damaturu and Potiskum kill 65

December - Christmas Day bombings across Nigeria kill 39

2012

January -- Gun and bomb attacks in Kano kill up to 200

February - Maiduguri market attack kills 30

June - Suicide car bombings at three churches kill 21

July - Attacks in Plateau state kill dozens, including two politicians at a funeral for the victims

2013

February - French family kidnapped in Cameroon, held hostage for two months

April - Fighting with troops in Baga kills up to 200; residents say troops set deadly fires

May - Attacks in Bama kill more than 50

July - Gunmen kill 30 at a school in Yobe

August - Gunmen kill 44 at a mosque outside Maiduguri

September - Gunmen kill 40 students a dorm in Yobe

October - Attack Yobe state capital Damaturu, clash with military in Borno state

But she also said the attacks do not necessarily mean that the Nigerian government is losing its war with insurgents. The region has been largely cut off from the rest of the country for the past three months, with cell phone lines and other forms of communications usually down.

Donnelly said the latest attacks show military claims to be crushing Boko Haram and Boko Haram claims to be growing stronger could each be true. “You are [seeing] heightened activity around Maiduguri because this is where the core of the group has now been squeezed and remains. Or if this thing actually-the state of emergency, is really going anywhere because, well clearly it is not delivering protection to civilians,” she stated.

Borno State officials said the attack could have been intended to scare people who may have been sharing information with security forces. One of the pillars of their current security policy is to gather intelligence from local residents.

Civilians have also formed vigilante groups with the support of Nigerian security forces. Usman Musa told a VOA reporter in Maiduguri his vigilante group went to Konduga after the mosque was attacked and fought with heavily armed militants, who killed four of Musa’s comrades.

A new video released shortly after the attack on the mosque and in the nearby town of Ngom shows Abubakar Shekau, the man believed to lead Boko Haram, claiming responsibility for recent deadly attacks and promising more.

He said his fighters are ready to not only conquer Nigeria, but also confront the United States. After he speaks, a shaky video shows men burning what looks like an armored vehicle with flat tires in the desert.

What sounds like gunshots can be heard and the camera pans to what appears to be some kind of aircraft flying over the smoky car.

Boko Haram has been blamed for thousands of deaths since 2009 in attacks on the government, churches, schools, mosques, markets, international organizations and media houses. In his video messages, Shekau said the group wants to impose Islamic law and rescue imprisoned members. But like their latest video, their real motivations have never been entirely clear to outsiders.

Abdulkareem Haruna contributed to this report from Maiduguri; Ardo Hazzad contributed to this report from Bauchi.

Once built, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge will span 2 kilometers with about 1.5 kilometers over water, and will be longest suspension bridge in world carrying rail system More

This forum has been closed.

Comment Sorting

Comments

by: Godwin from: Nigeria

August 14, 2013 7:56 AM

Nigerians know where the boko haram trouble is coming from. On Tuesday the Nigeria Television Authority program (Tuesday Live) dwelt on the issue of Boko Haram and insecurity in the country. Callers asked the question why those who clearly promised what is happening now - boko haram attacks - have not been brought to book, but the organizers ignored the question as if it was asked. Which is an indication that even in the government media houses the issue is a sacred one not to be discussed. Sacred cow syndrome is an issue Nigeria cannot survive.

Those implicated have not even been queried for once. Instead their apologist in the panel of discussants takes our minds back to 2001 and 2002 when seemingly similar thing like boko haram attack arose. But how can we draw a symmetry to that, assuming they were only fine tuning strategies at the time being sponsored by those who assuredly promised destabilization should they lose the election in 2009? The bigger problem is that Nigeria has a Lilly-livered authority at all levels of administration that show no clout for anything except in dexterity to corruption -staling of public funds.

The army can do little but fight where there is clue to do that, but with the cooperation of the Muslim communities and high placed individuals who hunt with the hound and run with the hare, the militants cannot but have an upper hand in committing mayhem in the country. Until there is a president who will take the bull by the horn by taking action against the known, seemingly untouchable sponsors of these miscreants, the end is not yet in sight.

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Manned deep space missions are still a long way off, but space agencies are already testing procedures, equipment and human stamina for operations in extreme environment conditions. Small groups of astronauts take turns in spending days in an underwater lab, off Florida’s southern coast, simulating future missions to some remote world. VOA’s George Putic reports.

Video

Fifty years ago, lawmakers approved, and U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The measure outlawed racial discrimination in voting, giving millions of blacks in many parts of the southern United States federal enforcement of the right to vote. Correspondent Chris Simkins introduces us to some civil rights leaders who were on the front lines in the struggle for voting rights.

Video

Billions of dollars of so-called ‘dirty money’ from the proceeds of crime - especially from Russia - are being laundered through the London property market, according to anti-corruption activists. As Henry Ridgwell reports from the British capital, the government has pledged to crack down on the practice.

Video

Ottawa, Illinois, is the hometown of W.D. Boyce, who founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. In Ottawa, where Scouting remains an important part of the legacy of the community, the end of the organization's ban on openly gay adult leaders was seen as inevitable. VOA's Kane Farabaugh reports.

Video

Artificial limbs, including the most complex of them – the human hand – are getting more life-like and useful due to constant advances in tiny hydraulic, pneumatic and electric motors called actuators. But now, as VOA’s George Putic reports, scientists in Germany say the future of the prosthetic hand may lie not in motors but in wires that can ‘remember’ their shape.

Video

A British pro-democracy group has accused Russia of abusing the global law enforcement agency Interpol by requesting the arrest and extradition of political opponents. A new report by the group notes such requests can mean the accused are unable to travel and are often unable to open bank accounts. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

Talks on a major new trade agreement among 12 Pacific Rim nations are said to be nearing completion in Hawaii. Some trade experts say the "positive atmosphere" at the discussions could mean a deal is within reach, but there is still hard bargaining to be done over many issues and products, including U.S. drugs and Japanese rice. VOA's Jim Randle reports.

Video

Earth is in the midst of its sixth mass extinction. The last such event was caused by an asteroid 66 million years ago. It killed off the dinosaurs and practically everything else. So scientists are in a race against time to classify the estimated 11 million species alive today. So far only 2 million are described by science, and researchers are worried many will disappear before they even have a name. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble reports.

Video

Scientists have long been trying to develop an effective protection and cure for malaria - one of the deadliest diseases that affects people in tropical areas, especially children. As the World Health Organization announces plans to begin clinical trials of a promising new vaccine, scientists in South Africa report that they too are at an important threshold. George Putic reports, they are testing a compound that could be a single-dose cure for malaria.

Video

The latest issue of 'New York' magazine features 35 women who say they were drugged and raped by film and television celebrity Bill Cosby. The women are aged from 44 to 80 and come from different walks of life and races. The magazine interviewed each of them separately, but Zlatica Hoke reports their stories are similar.

Video

The United States is promising not to give up its fight against what Secretary of State John Kerry calls the “scourge” of modern slavery. Officials released the country’s annual human trafficking report Monday – a report that’s being met with some criticism. VOA’s National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin has more from the State Department.

Video

Abandoned more than 50 years ago, the underground streetcar station in Washington D.C.’s historic DuPont Circle district is about to be reborn. The plan calls for turning the spacious underground platforms - once meant to be a transportation hub, - into a unique space for art exhibitions, presentations, concerts and even a film set. Roman Mamonov has more from beneath the streets of the U.S. capital. Joy Wagner narrates his report.

Video

Greece has replaced Italy as the main gateway for migrants into Europe, with more than 100,000 arrivals in the first six months of 2015. Many want to move further into Europe and escape Greece’s economic crisis, but they face widespread dangers on the journey overland through the Balkans. VOA's Henry Ridgwell reports.

Video

After the closure of a major rubbish dump a week ago, the streets of Beirut are filling up with trash. Having failed to draw up a plan B, politicians are struggling to deal with the problem. John Owens has more for VOA from Beirut.

Video

A U.N. climate conference in December aims to produce an ambitious agreement to fight heat-trapping greenhouse gases. But many local governments are not waiting, and have drafted their own climate action plans. That’s the case with Paris — which is getting special attention, since it’s hosting the climate summit. Lisa Bryant takes a look for VOA at the transformation of the French capital into an eco-city.